Snow storm of 1944 had Oakville residents digging deep to recover

By

Published January 18, 2022 at 2:05 pm

Snow banks were piled high in downtown Oakville in 1944. (Oakville Historical Society photo)

The blast of snow that we received Sunday night and into Monday may have caused us some chaos, but the storm that arrived in Oakville in 1944 was even bigger.

It was December 11, 1944 that most of Southern Ontario was hit, dropping a total of 57.2 centimetres (almost two-feet) over a two-day period according to Environment Canada records.

This photo from the Oakville Historical Society shows snow banks piled high downtown after crews cleared the sidewalks.

With manual labour being the main force for removing snow back at that time, it led to 13 deaths due to overexertion in the area while 21 people died overall in storm related incidences.

Environment Canada records show that the storm paralyzed many communities forcing the closures of schools, workplaces and transportation routes which meant that those in need of medical care had to be carted or carried to old Oakville-Trafalgar Hospital while many expectant mothers walked through the blizzard to reach the hospital to give birth to those who would now be 78-years-old.

 

 

insauga's Editorial Standards and Policies advertising